Yesterday, I made the choice to leave the Blog Herald as a contributor. Choices like this one can take longer to make for some people. In my case it has taken about a month. During these past 30 days I have learned that yes, I am a blogger and more than that I am an artist who not only practices the art of writing but that of image making, designing and gardening to name a few. [Read more…]

Do you ever become curious in how online and offline relate to each-other? Maybe they are extreme polar opposites or could they bear, a perhaps odd, resemblance to each other. I find myself in flux, experiencing change not of my choosing taking place both online and offline. An adaptation of sorts will need to be learned. [Read more…]

This Spammer named Bush happen upon my blog on an eve in November of the year 2006. Bush left a comment eight full-screen captures long that night.

“Dayum” I said.

I know of no existing copyright Spam protection laws. I urge all you creative bloggers to steal spam while you can. It’s free. It’s fun. It’s your new neighborhood garbage can.

This Bush left the lengthiest, most link-baited comment in my spam-box ever. My computer screen resolution is 1280p by 884p. This comment was seven thousand and seventy-two pixels long. This is unacceptable. [Read more…]

There are times when writing about blogging or anything for that matter, where one finds she must use a different medium to express herself thru. During a recent angry couple of weeks I experienced, I wrote, scribbled and drew out my frustrations as I do, regularly, intsigated on by that emotion I feel. It was only a matter of time before The BlogVent detangled itself from typing on keyboard on laptop to pen on paper in my journal.

After the jump, the drawn and written aftermath of one such evenings blog blah vent.

Have you ever sat down on the toilet? Have you ever been sitting quietly while waiting for your body to emit sound, smell and matter into said porcelain toilet and begun thinking? Maybe you began observing your surroundings? Were they located in a public place?

For clarities sake most of us have sat down in a public restroom stall to poop or pee. The contents we excrete, we conveniently flush away with toilet tissues after a thorough wipe or patting of our nether regions. What did you do while you were inside… other than the obvious. Many people write. They write on the stall walls, scratching or marking and even burning letters, words, symbols, images, love notes, anagrams or their personal initials into and onto it. I read it. I grimace. Sometimes I even tag it too. I have even laughed or giggled out-loud.

Give Debbie a call for a good time or J.W.D loves HFO!!! greet my eyes and I wonder who this Debbie lady is and [Read more…]

As of recent, an abundance of ideas have been overwhelming my cognitive behaviour in such a way that for me to move forward with these ideas I need to ask other people for help in the form of a mutually wanted and beneficial exchange. In the past at entering this realm of flux, a general life anxiety tends to emerge. Many of us have mental health concerns that are as alike in physicaql presentation as some common physical ailments are mentally. I think the ideas or the learning curve begins overlapping the ability to function in the present. Can’t get them out fast enough’€¦ Once I feel confident with learning the initial stage of whatever medium I am pursuing I want to learn more instinctively. Really, this is upsetting with some mediums I have encountered. More times than one I have become impassioned by the paint brush or pen. As an adult, it seems the learning curve slows but the ideas persist. Perhaps this slowing is due to the not being able to focus on say 10 areas. Never mind one, because that would discount stimuli; the fuel.

I don’t know about you but I have become drawn to the internet to continue learning and practice my trade. This learning has lead to a belief, that I am not alone upon discovering one can actually make a living doing this. Blogging is an art-form that needs more coverage offline. The lovers of art of the world really don’t know this. They could though but are merely humoured by it because it is free somehow?

Making a living is a full-on broad spectrum phrase mind you.[Read more…]

How many posts do you have out there that you have never published. They sit in your dashboard titled or not. They have body copy, or not. There are ones with images, some with links and some with pretty poetic prose, yet they sit, not published.

Why?

Why would we do that? Why would we write something, take the time to edit, ad links, photo’s and other descriptory media to the entry and then not publish it? I don’t understand this. Do you? At present count I have 26 unpublished posts. LMAO. I have to kick myself silly for this one.[Read more…]

I’ll take the pledge Martin. Honestly, I have been learning how to correctly identify to readers what is paid for things on my own blog. I call it a thing, simply put, for I have never had to reveal my sources of income before, as one does with blogging, save to my respective government come income tax time. I say honestly, I have never posted a post because I was paid from a company to post about it’s product. Other than being a paid contributor to this blog and one other, I feel that being labelled as a contributor clearly illustrates that a financial and/or personal exchange is taking place, between owner and contributor. I believe this to be clearly understood by those who happen upon the blogosphere for the first time. It was to me. It may not be to others. But given time this concept/reality is digested quickly. Just like on traditional News sites, newspapers, magazines and even TV, there is an exchange of bounty between contributor and owner that is implied.

Just reading your post Martin and then clicking through to read the full Blog Honor Pledge calmed my nerves. That may sound foolish but as I blog more, I learn more and the more opinions I read the more I store them in my head. Many may be able to push these all opinions aside, yet the more I tried the more I get/got confused. This unknown pressure presented itself to me one day. I read about splogs, spam and non existent disclosures from blogs in which the post is being paid by advertisers to promote their product (negatively and/or positively). This dishonesty and failure to be honest is what makes people begin to feel insignificant. As a intermediate? (lol – I don’t know) blogger I began feeling insignificant.

I agree with you Martin on this.

I’€™m of the view that the reader comes first. Do right by the reader by being authentic and transparent at all times and the rewards will eventually come your way.

I woke up today not unlike any other day; I washed my face, brushed my teeth, threw on some clothes and went out to buy some smokes and soda i.e. caffeinated Pepsi. I shut my apartment door and began walking down the flights of stairs to ground level. On the way down, the building manager smiles while entering the third floor door with a can of paint “ahhh…. She is going OUT into the Brave New World. We bothed laughed. We both work here. I on my computer and as a house lady to my man, not to be confused with house wife, and he as a building manager and house husband to his wife.[Read more…]

What changes after you begin to be paid. There has been many posts of late here on the Herald speaking of bloggers, money and integrity. What about the personal emotions one can feel when experiencing being paid for the first time or all of a sudden having an interactive audience from all over the world to interact with?

I am experiencing this right now. As I write I experience. As I read I learn. As I comment I release. The only thing that truly scares me is money. I understand the value of money. I understand the value of a tree. I understand the idea behind money, but notwhat actually makes money go from one person to another. Sometimes it is given. Sometimes it is baught. Sometimes it is stolen. One way or another what money goes around must come around again or it will end. It is just like a tree. You have a tree. Your tree is dieing. You gather seeds from that dieing tree and plant a baby, maybe even beside it. What if you just let the tree die. Would you go and buy another tree? Would you pluck it from the ground and plant a flower instead? Would you saw the tree in two in hopes of new growth stemming from the stump during the next growing season?[Read more…]